Blackboard eraser



July 15, 1958 s r 2,842,791

BLACKBOARD ERASER Filed 001;. s, 1956 I ATTDRN EYE BLACKBGARD ERASERLowell Statler, Bellevne, Ghio, assignor of one-third to The JosephDixon Crucible Company (American Crayon Company Division}, .iersey(lit-3:, N. 31, a cor poration of New Jersey Application October 3,1956, Serial No. 613,666

1 Claim. (Cl. 1--2tl9) This invention relates to an eraser, and moreparticularly to a blackboard eraser.

The object of the invention is to provide an eraser which is especiallysuitable for erasing chalk from blackboards in schoolrooms or the like,the eraser including a sheet or layer of leather or cowhide having aplurality of pores or openings therein.

Another object or" the invention is to provide a blackboard eraser whichincludes a sheet or layer of suitable material such as cowhide which isprovided with a plurality of openings or pores whereby an abradingsurface is provided for facilitating the removal of chalk from theblackboard, and whereby the chalk can be readily removed from the eraseras when the eraser is to be cleaned.

A further object of the invention is to provide a blackboard eraserwhich is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and inwhich like numerals are used to designate like parts throughout thesame:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the blackboard eraser,constructed according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the blackboard eraser.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 19 designates a base orhand grip which can be made of any suitable material such as plastic,and the base ill includes a rectangular portion 11 and a pair of spacedapart side portions 12 which are recessed at 13 so as to define handgrips.

Arranged contiguous to the base Ill and connected thereto is a block 14.For connecting the block 14 to the base 10, a pair of slots 15 arearranged in the block 14, and inturned flanges 16 on the base It) engagethe slots 15.

There is further provided a layer or sheet of yieldable material 17which may be made of any suitable material such as sponge rubber, andthe layer 17 may be secured to the block 1 by a coating of glue oradhesive. There is further provided an outer layer 18 which is securedto the layer 17, and the layer 18 may be cowhide or leather, the layer18 being provided with a plurality of pores or openings 19 whereby thesepores 19 will receive or retain the chalk as the eraser is moved alongthe blackboard. Then, when the eraser is to be cleaned, by tapping onthe eraser, the chalk will readily fall out of the pores 19. The ends ofthe layers or strips 17 and 18 may be tapered or beveled as shown in thedrawings so as to help insure that the layers or strips will notaccidentally catch on any objects.

2,842,?9l Patented July 15, 1958 From the foregoing it is apparent thatthere has been provided an eraser which is especially suitable for usein erasing or removing chalk from blackboards in schools, homes and thelike. In use, the base 10 is gripped in the hand and the cutawayportions 13 provide clearance for the comfort of the fingers of thehand. Then, when the eraser is moved over the blackboard containing thechalk, the'chalk will be removed from the blackboard and some of thechalk will be retained or received in the pores 19. Due to the provisionof these pores H, the layer 18 is provided with an abrasion-like surfacewhich facilitates the removal of the chalk from the blackboard. Also,the holes or pores 19 can be readily punched in the material 13 in anysuitable manner, as for example by means of a suitable needle. After thechalk has been removed from the blackboard, or when the eraser becomessaturated with chalk, the eraser can be tapped against the wall or asuitable object can be used to tap the base 1% so that the chalk willreadily fall from the pores 19 whereby the eraser can be used over andover again.

The base 10 can be made of any suitable material such as plastic, andthe material 13 can be heavy cowhide and the sheet of material 13 can besecured in place by means of a suitable adhesive. The block 14 can bemade of Masonite or plywood or the like. Thus, it will be seen thatthere has been provided a blackboard eraser which includes the base orhandle 1d which can be conveniently gripped in a persons hand and thebase 10 may be hollow as shown in the drawings. The flanges 16 aresnugly seated in the recesses 15 in the block 14- so that the parts canbe readily detached when desired. The yieldable layer of sponge rubber17 pro vides a resilient backing for the layer of leather or cow hide 18which has the pores or openings 19 therein. As previously describedthere is a great many or" the pores or openings 19 and these pores orperforations l9 may be made by means of a suitable needle or the like.

While it has been proposed to use leather in prior blackboard erasers,it has been recognized that heavy tough leather soon polishes andbecomes useless as an eraser. Furthermore, soft weak leathers do nothave enough bite and soon wear out. in the present invention a toughhard leather is used but the cell structure is broken up all the waythrough by means of the perforations 19. For example, there may be asmany as 60,090 holes or perforations 19 in the layer of leather 18. Theprovision of the openings 19 serves to make the leather soft and spongybut still retains the hard grain so that it has sufiicient bite to erasethe chalk easily. Thus, the leather will wear rough instead ofpolishing.

When ordinary leather is used on a blackboard eraser it has a tendencyto develop a glaze on it and polish. But with the present invention theeraser develops a nap on the leather which remains permanently. it to beunderstood that the size and shape of the parts can be varied as desiredand the device can be made of suitable material. With the presentinvention the eraser will not leave a film of chalk on the blackboardafter the blackboard has been erased. A suitable die can be used forforming the openings 19 so as to tear the tissue of the leather. Thus,the leather is changed from a hard layer of material to a soft spongylayer of material.

I claim:

A blackboard eraser comprising a hollow base embodying a rectangularportion, said base further including a pair of opposed spaced apart sideportions provided with recesses so as to define hand gripping portions,a first layer of yieldable material arranged contiguous to said base andoperatively secured thereto, a second layer of material extending alongthe outer surface of said first layer of material and secured thereto,said first layer of material being sponge rubber, said second layer ofmaterial being leather and said second layer of material being providedwith a great number of minute spaced apart pores therein which arearranged closely adjacent to each other, said pores extending all theway through the second layer of material so as to create a spongystructure having a roughened working surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSAndrews May 15, Palmer Oct. 1, Barrie May 18, 0xley July 22,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain of

